The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), in a new report in 2013 citing a Graduate Tracer Study made by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), mentioned graduates of the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University have significant head start in their careers compared to graduates of other colleges and universities nationwide.

Jobstreet.com Philippines latest survey that ran for two weeks and joined by around 450 respondents showed majority of employers prefer to hire fresh graduates from top 4 universities although a vast majority are still open to hiring from other schools, especially those with specialization. Fresh graduates from top Metro Manila schools still have a better chance of landing a job.

The report indicated 71% of employers said that the school the prospective employee graduated from was still either “very important” or “quite important” to them. Although there was a decline from 77% from the 2014 report, employers prefer mostly the same schools in the following order:

University of the Philippines

University of Santo Tomas

De La Salle University / Ateneo de Manila University

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Mapua Institute of Technology

Far Eastern University

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila/Adamson University

University of the East / Philippine Normal University / Technological Institute of the Philippines

Ateneo climbed up from its 2014 rank of #4 to share the #3 spot with De La Salle, while Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and Adamson University both climbed up to share the #8 spot.

According to Country manager Grace Colet, the results of the survey indicated that employers consider education as an indicator of how one performs and the top universities represent the kind of education that companies look for.

“They know that curriculum from these schools produce certain level of competency,” she said.

The survey however said, graduates from other universities should still be confident in landing a job as 94% of companies said they would still hire applicants even if they did not come from the top four universities.

Jobstreet.com quoted a Human Resource practitioner saying, “So long as they are able to communicate in English, are trainable and dedicated to work hard, they will still be considered even if they don’t graduate from top universities.”